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Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner #1-2
Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner Rising Compendium
This compendium charts the rise of the Corps’ latest and greatest member as he strives to maintain order in a galaxy without Guardians.
Hal Jordan has broken bad. In his grief and fury, he has decimated the once-mighty Green Lantern Corps. But hope still survives when the last Guardian, Ganthet, bestows the sole remaining power ring upon an artist named Kyle Rayner. Possessing an imagination and will unlike any previous Lantern, Rayner becomes Earth’s new Green Lantern! This compendium charts the rise of the Corps’ latest and greatest member as he strives to maintain order in a galaxy without Guardians.
Collects GREEN LANTERN (1990) #0, #48-65; R.E.B.E.L.S. ’94 #1; NEW TITANS #116-117, #124-125; GUY WARRIOR #27-28; DARKSTARS #34; and DAMAGE #16.
Hal Jordan has broken bad. In his grief and fury, he has decimated the once-mighty Green Lantern Corps. But hope still survives when the last Guardian, Ganthet, bestows the sole remaining power ring upon an artist named Kyle Rayner. Possessing an imagination and will unlike any previous Lantern, Rayner becomes Earth’s new Green Lantern! This compendium charts the rise of the Corps’ latest and greatest member as he strives to maintain order in a galaxy without Guardians.
Collects GREEN LANTERN (1990) #0, #48-65; R.E.B.E.L.S. ’94 #1; NEW TITANS #116-117, #124-125; GUY WARRIOR #27-28; DARKSTARS #34; and DAMAGE #16.
704 pages, Paperback
First published November 21, 2023
19 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Ron Marz
1,647 books122 followersMarz is well known for his work on Silver Surfer and Green Lantern, as well as the Marvel vs DC crossover and Batman/Aliens. He also worked on the CrossGen Comics series Scion, Mystic, Sojourn, and The Path. At Dark Horse Comics he created Samurai: Heaven and Earth and various Star Wars comics. He has also done work for Devil’s Due Publishing’s Aftermath line, namely Blade of Kumori. In 1995, he had a brief run on XO-Manowar, for Valiant Comics.
Marz’s more recent works includes a number of Top Cow books including Witchblade and a Cyberforce relaunch. For DC Comics, he has written Ion, a 12 part comic book miniseries that followed the Kyle Rayner character after the One Year Later event, and Tales of the Sinistro Corps Presents: Parallax and Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents: Ion, two one-shot tie-ins to the Green Lantern crossover, The Sinestro Corps War.
His current creator owned projects include “Dragon Prince” (Top Cow) and “Samurai : Heaven and Earth” (Dark Horse).
Photo by Luigi Novi.
Marz’s more recent works includes a number of Top Cow books including Witchblade and a Cyberforce relaunch. For DC Comics, he has written Ion, a 12 part comic book miniseries that followed the Kyle Rayner character after the One Year Later event, and Tales of the Sinistro Corps Presents: Parallax and Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents: Ion, two one-shot tie-ins to the Green Lantern crossover, The Sinestro Corps War.
His current creator owned projects include “Dragon Prince” (Top Cow) and “Samurai : Heaven and Earth” (Dark Horse).
Photo by Luigi Novi.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 16, 2025
A great collection of the first Kyle Rayner stories, despite Kyle only existing to destroy and replace my favorite Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. Despite this, Kyle is an excellent character and a welcome addition to the Green Lantern Corps.
I will say that this could have collected a bit more than stuff that's already been collected in the past though. For a compendium, this collection is rather small, clocking in at around 700 pages. What's in here is good stuff--don't get me wrong, but I would have liked to have seen some issues that haven't already been collected before.
Here's hoping this can sell enough copies so we can finally get those collected in a volume 2.
Side note: Reading this and then diving into Sam Humphries' Green Lanterns run, in which we see a more mature Kyle who's been a GL for a while, makes for an excellent epilogue of sorts to this Compendium, to see how much he's grown over the years, where in these early stories, he's inexperienced and almost, but not quite immature, in a way.
Highly recommended (if you can handle and understand some of the edge that 90s books had).
P.S. please make a volume 2
- Benji
I will say that this could have collected a bit more than stuff that's already been collected in the past though. For a compendium, this collection is rather small, clocking in at around 700 pages. What's in here is good stuff--don't get me wrong, but I would have liked to have seen some issues that haven't already been collected before.
Here's hoping this can sell enough copies so we can finally get those collected in a volume 2.
Side note: Reading this and then diving into Sam Humphries' Green Lanterns run, in which we see a more mature Kyle who's been a GL for a while, makes for an excellent epilogue of sorts to this Compendium, to see how much he's grown over the years, where in these early stories, he's inexperienced and almost, but not quite immature, in a way.
Highly recommended (if you can handle and understand some of the edge that 90s books had).
P.S. please make a volume 2
- Benji
July 28, 2024
Could have done with an introduction or backmatter and, for the price point and compendium name, definitely should have included more than 28 issues.
August 23, 2024
Kyle Rayner is a bit of a black sheep Green Lantern but I've always had a soft spot for him because he was Green Lantern when I was a teenager and reading a bunch of comics. It was fun to revisit these stories and read a bunch of collateral stories that I'd never read (or even heard of before. Damage?!) I think I may hunt down the next volume and make this 90's nostalgia fest official.
This contains a few must reads like Hal Jordan losing his mind to grief and declaring war on all the other Lanterns. Also, it has the infamous "fridging" comic book that caused such a commotion. (Kyle comes home to find his girlfriend stuffed into a fridge.) It caused a much needed discussion about female characters being killed and tortured merely as a plot device for the male characters.
This contains a few must reads like Hal Jordan losing his mind to grief and declaring war on all the other Lanterns. Also, it has the infamous "fridging" comic book that caused such a commotion. (Kyle comes home to find his girlfriend stuffed into a fridge.) It caused a much needed discussion about female characters being killed and tortured merely as a plot device for the male characters.
May 5, 2024
Revisiting these comics it’s easy to quibble how often the Hal Jordan situation is rehashed, how it never really resulted in the definitive break DC obviously wanted (if these compendiums continue the next one features Hal’s heroic sacrifice during Final Night, and then later his resurrection as the new host of Spectre thanks to Day of Judgment three years hence). Kyle’s formative development includes the shock of his girlfriend’s sudden and infamous death at the hands of Major Force (which led to Gail Simone’s career in comics), which led to a crossover with Guy Gardner: Warrior, which eventually led to Kyle joining New Titans, which led to the crossover that ends this volume, an effort to solidify the team’s lineup (and about a year before Supergirl got her own title). One of Kyle’s teammates is Damage, another hero Zero Hour tried to position into a significant new player…
The Nineties was a transition decade for DC, with big moves happening and attempts to deepen the landscape with a deliberate approach to the same kind of legacy expansion that launched the Silver Age. Superman gained a whole cast of supporting heroes around him, Batman’s associates and allies (Robin, Nightwing, Catwoman) all received their first shots at their own series, and characters like Damage and The Ray had chances to do what had previously been attempted only in team books like All-Star Squadron.
And Kyle streamlined the whole Green Lantern concept. This compendium opens with the story that wipes out the entire Green Lantern Corps. Clearly, right off the bat, Ron Marz proves a massive contrast to the later Geoff Johns. Marz spends one brief moment picking up the pieces of the Corps, and not even with a member readers would have even met before. Johns would scoop up scores of familiar faces. Kyle is left in a vacuum, Hal shows up repeatedly, Guy, but it’s not until after these issues John Stewart shows up, although admittedly in ways that begin a renaissance for the character that emphasizes him well beyond his prior limits (I still think of him chiefly as an architect).
Marz hits the neophyte button repeatedly, trying to prove Kyle’s worth through his sheer endurance. It’s his quickly-dead girlfriend Alex who believes in his potential, but Marz skips over so much, in hindsight, even jumping right into her death only a handful of issues in, and by the end of this volume Kyle is already jumping into a relationship with Donna Troy. We see Kyle repeatedly weeping over Alex’s death…but clearly the days of massive trauma leading to grim crusades are over. Kyle was meant, was set up to be a youthful positive new take on Green Lantern (everyone who never read DC that decade always says Frank Miller and Alan Moore fatally turned superheroes dark, but that was simply not the case). Darryl Banks, whom I adored at the time, in addition to needing a ton of breathing room to produce his results, isn’t adept at showing how young Kyle presumably is. In fact the whole collection is full of artists I don’t think nailed what was asked of them. None of them are bad; they’re just a step or two away from full effectiveness.
But these are still fun comics to revisit. This is my classic era. Mongul was tossed at Wally West, too; I guess that’s just how the editors thought of him at the time. Knowing how all this plays out, that Judd Winnick succeeds Marz and puts his own stamp on Kyle, and of course Johns, and Kyle gets a better “Zi Charam” story out of Tom King in the pages of his true masterpiece (Omega Men)…
Anyway, long live the clamshell!
The Nineties was a transition decade for DC, with big moves happening and attempts to deepen the landscape with a deliberate approach to the same kind of legacy expansion that launched the Silver Age. Superman gained a whole cast of supporting heroes around him, Batman’s associates and allies (Robin, Nightwing, Catwoman) all received their first shots at their own series, and characters like Damage and The Ray had chances to do what had previously been attempted only in team books like All-Star Squadron.
And Kyle streamlined the whole Green Lantern concept. This compendium opens with the story that wipes out the entire Green Lantern Corps. Clearly, right off the bat, Ron Marz proves a massive contrast to the later Geoff Johns. Marz spends one brief moment picking up the pieces of the Corps, and not even with a member readers would have even met before. Johns would scoop up scores of familiar faces. Kyle is left in a vacuum, Hal shows up repeatedly, Guy, but it’s not until after these issues John Stewart shows up, although admittedly in ways that begin a renaissance for the character that emphasizes him well beyond his prior limits (I still think of him chiefly as an architect).
Marz hits the neophyte button repeatedly, trying to prove Kyle’s worth through his sheer endurance. It’s his quickly-dead girlfriend Alex who believes in his potential, but Marz skips over so much, in hindsight, even jumping right into her death only a handful of issues in, and by the end of this volume Kyle is already jumping into a relationship with Donna Troy. We see Kyle repeatedly weeping over Alex’s death…but clearly the days of massive trauma leading to grim crusades are over. Kyle was meant, was set up to be a youthful positive new take on Green Lantern (everyone who never read DC that decade always says Frank Miller and Alan Moore fatally turned superheroes dark, but that was simply not the case). Darryl Banks, whom I adored at the time, in addition to needing a ton of breathing room to produce his results, isn’t adept at showing how young Kyle presumably is. In fact the whole collection is full of artists I don’t think nailed what was asked of them. None of them are bad; they’re just a step or two away from full effectiveness.
But these are still fun comics to revisit. This is my classic era. Mongul was tossed at Wally West, too; I guess that’s just how the editors thought of him at the time. Knowing how all this plays out, that Judd Winnick succeeds Marz and puts his own stamp on Kyle, and of course Johns, and Kyle gets a better “Zi Charam” story out of Tom King in the pages of his true masterpiece (Omega Men)…
Anyway, long live the clamshell!
February 15, 2024
I was disappointed to find this was largely a recollection of what has already been published in Volume 2... I was originally thinking this was volume 3 and was disappointed to get halfway through the book and realize a huge amount of this was already collected.
Imo Kyle Rayners run gets interesting in volumes 3 and 4 if they ever get collected.
Definently some good stories here and in volume 1 and 2, but issues with some subpar art.
If you already own volume 2 stay away from this collection, even with some new stories collected its a lot of redundance. Why???
Imo Kyle Rayners run gets interesting in volumes 3 and 4 if they ever get collected.
Definently some good stories here and in volume 1 and 2, but issues with some subpar art.
If you already own volume 2 stay away from this collection, even with some new stories collected its a lot of redundance. Why???
September 6, 2025
Would've probably given this 5 stars if not for the inclusion of the crossover siege event at the end. It's cool seeing Kyle as part of the Titans, especially because of his budding romance with Donna Troy, but this arc was a bit too clunky and cosmic.
Other than that I absolutely loved reading these stories! Emerald Twilight is an explosive beginning to Kyle's journey (and a tragic end to Hal Jordan's path of heroism), and the first 10 or so issues after that event absolutely fly by. There's some great tales in this compendium!
Other than that I absolutely loved reading these stories! Emerald Twilight is an explosive beginning to Kyle's journey (and a tragic end to Hal Jordan's path of heroism), and the first 10 or so issues after that event absolutely fly by. There's some great tales in this compendium!
May 25, 2025
Kyle Rayner is easily one of the most underrated DC characters. Everyone knows who Green Lantern is but mostly only refer to Hal Jordan or Jon Stewart. This compendium collects the first issues of Kyle's uptake of the mantle and role of Earth's protector. Filled with great 90s artwork and some bombastic storytelling, plus the origin of the awful comic book trope 'Fridging'. Great for any GL fan to have in their collection. Fingers crossed for a vol 2.
August 18, 2025
I like Kyle, and the pre-retcon Parallax, I like resetting the green lantern universe from the ground up. I don't think this book collects what I would collect from the Kyle Rayner comic line. I really like this comics line a lot, but I think it's missing key stories like his adventures with Donna or Conner Hawke that I find way more interesting then the villain of the week titan stuff that somehow made the cut.
February 15, 2024
A good compendium that covers Kyle Rayner becoming Green Lantern and his growth into the role. There are some battles with Hal Jordan who is still mad. The book finished with a Titans crossover. The art was only so-so, and I didn’t like how they fridged Rayner’s girlfriend. But there were still many good moments.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2024
I really loved Kyle Rayner’s introduction to the DC Universe and all the adventures he goes on as Green Lantern, however, I had some trouble with his interactions with Rebels and other heroes since those tended to be a mixed bag for me. Still fun character and fun read.
June 3, 2025
Fairly solid group of stories showing the fall of Hal Jordan and the rise of Kyle Rayner as the new Green Lantern. The Ron Marz written Lantern issues were great, but the other ancillary things in this collection were hit and miss.
July 29, 2025
Loved every second of it, minus half of the titans stuff.
Kyle rayner is GOATED.
Hal Jordan loses his mind after coast city is destroyed in the events of death and reign of Superman. Guardians sacrifice themselves to make one last ring and give it to Kyle.
Kyle rayner is GOATED.
Hal Jordan loses his mind after coast city is destroyed in the events of death and reign of Superman. Guardians sacrifice themselves to make one last ring and give it to Kyle.
August 25, 2025
Listado de personajes y lugares pendientes, correspondientes a
GREEN LANTERN (1990) #0, #48-65; R.E.B.E.L.S. ’94 #1; NEW TITANS #116-117, #124-125; GUY WARRIOR #27-28; DARKSTARS #34; and DAMAGE #16.
GREEN LANTERN (1990) #0, #48-65; R.E.B.E.L.S. ’94 #1; NEW TITANS #116-117, #124-125; GUY WARRIOR #27-28; DARKSTARS #34; and DAMAGE #16.
September 26, 2025
This book mostly rocks! Peak 90s reimagining of a classic character. I really related to Kyle and his struggles, but man does this book hit a brick wall with the last five chapters, a bloated cosmic crossover that barely involves Kyle Rayner. I hope there’s a Vol. 2 before long!
October 16, 2025
I love Green Lantern but Kyle Rayner era was not my top...
Dont get me wrong, Kyle is better GL than Hal Jordan (unpopular opinion) but this adventures have not aged well IMHO.
It is tho, essential to all GL fans, and provides an important background to Hal's Rebirth in the Geoff Johns era.
Dont get me wrong, Kyle is better GL than Hal Jordan (unpopular opinion) but this adventures have not aged well IMHO.
It is tho, essential to all GL fans, and provides an important background to Hal's Rebirth in the Geoff Johns era.
January 12, 2026
I love the Kyle Rayner content and his origins! It’s also a nice way to get into the Green Lantern stuff with Hal Jordan’s pivot in the 90s. Not sure if I like his side comics though once the Titans get involved as much though. I liked the art style most of the time for the comics included.
May 21, 2024
Some of the side issues really drag, but the main Green Lantern stuff is fantastic and inspired me to check out more DC stuff. I'm definitely a fan of Green Lantern and Ron Marz after this.
June 20, 2024
I wish the mapping was a little better.
April 15, 2025
La première moitié était super interessante, l’autre pas du tout. Heureusement qu’il y avait Guy pour la rattraper 🙏🏻
August 3, 2025
the many crossovers really bring this book down
August 4, 2024
+ Kyle Rayner is a fantastic, charismatic Green Lantern. Awesome origin story
- Bogged down by crossover events and loses steam in the latter half of compendium
- Bogged down by crossover events and loses steam in the latter half of compendium
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews